On Pricing Artwork

In a combox below, mysterious reader "e", writes about my painting Persimmons & China Vase;

I'm rather surprised that it's being sold at that particular price.

I'm no art expert (obviously), but I thought that you would have priced it higher...

Would the size of the painting have anything to do with the price?

Pricing original artwork is about as orderly and scientific a process as reading chicken entrails, e. There really are no guidelines except the bottom line of how much (or how little) the artist is willing to take to part with the work, and the top limit of what the market will bear, which varies wildly.

So much depends on reputation, and building a reputation is another job in itself.

Until the artist's reputation reaches a certain critical mass (the exact point of which can be determined by reading coffee grounds and laying that information over the results of the chicken entrails and plotting the whole thing on a graph) the work may not - probably won't - fetch the kind of price that comparable work would get from a more established artist. That's just life.

I've seen work comparable to Persimmons selling for ten times that price, and I've seen better work selling for less. I can't really think about that, I can only focus on my family's needs and what I think I can get by with. Selling the painting at the price listed on my website would boost my annual income significantly, so if a collector feels it is worth that price, I'll be happy to sell it. Selling a favorite piece is a little like watching your children leave home, but it's also what I have chosen as a profession... it's what I do. I make art to sell, and letting go of it is just part of that. I can paint more, in fact, that's the whole idea.

Oh, as to the size of the artwork affecting the price, in an ideal world that wouldn't be a factor. The worth of art comes from its emotional and spiritual impact, but back in the real universe, surface area does figure into it.

One of my next big projects will be a portrait of G.K. Chesterton. I hope to do Belloc and the Inklings, as well. Painting saints sounds very appealing, at present, too. And yes, Adam D., there will be more landscapes on the way... Stay tuned!

Happy 4th of July to everyone! Hey, Paul C., ... do they have the 4th of July in Canada, or do y'all just skip right over it to the 5th?

Comments

[The Aesthetic Elevator]

One of my profs said he'd rather price one of his platters at $10,000 and have nine to give away as opposed to selling all ten for $1,000. I like that philosophy, but it might not flush itself out in ever circumstance.

Pricing really is a bear.

[Adam D]

Heck yeah, pricing stinks. The visual arts (among other arts too) get so little respect in general, people who want to buy a painting think nothing of the years of study and work it takes to become proficient and, even that aside, the price so many people expect to pay amounts to offering the artist a couple dollars per hour wage ... at least when I figure the amount of hours I personally spend on a painting and what has been offered me for my paintings at times.

Aside from the few commissioned portraits I've done, I just keep prices where I know it'll be hard to sell without getting them in a posh gallery, and I keep them for myself.

Looking forward to those landscapes, Tim!

[e.]

I've seen work comparable to Persimmons selling for ten times that price...

Indeed!

I actually thought the same and that's why I was so surprised to find out the price you actually put on it on your site.

Whoever buys that marvelous painting of yours will certainly be fortunate especially at that price!

Thanks for the explanation, Tim J.!